Unfortunate Timing
by Lunar-L
Summary: If you've read my fic Caught you'll know that Ladybug and Chat Noir ended up accidentally discovering who each other are after an akuma battle. But how did that happen exactly?


A tumblr follower made a request for the actual reveal implied in my fic Caught. After about a million years, I actually wrote it.

* * *

 **Unfortunate Timing**

"I would love to stay and chat, My Lady, but I'm on a hot tin roof here and need to go before I singe my fur."

Ladybug glanced up at his words to see Chat Noir already fleeing to the school rooftop, before dropping down the other side and out of sight, his ring beeping the entire way.

His words suddenly registered as she heard the last beep of her earring indicating she had less than a minute until she changed back. So Ladybug did what she did best.

She panicked.

Dashing suddenly to the edge of the school building, Ladybug turned and ducked down the street next to it. Looking around revealed there was no one here but she was still far too exposed to change back where she was. What if someone looked out of a window? Or turned a corner?

Glancing up she spotted a narrow window to her right, far too high up to be of any use to anybody inside. It was clearly just there to let in some light and maybe to air out the room at times. Which meant it was a window leading to a school storage closet, a fact Ladybug suddenly loved that she knew.

Her earrings began beeping again, this time constantly and insistent, with a tremor that made her ear ache. Throwing her yo-yo up and latching the string around the lock on the edge, she pulled herself up with the ease that came from practised skill and a magical set of armour.

It was only as she was already tumbling through the window that she registered that Chat was already in this very closet, but it was already too late for her to go back.

With a pink burst of light, Ladybug became Marinette in mid-air and instead of the graceful roll she had intended to land in, she instead found herself face-planting against a strong and magically suited chest. The force of her landing sent them both sprawling to the tiny stretch of ground, just as a flash of green light shone through the closet. Her cheek was left grazing soft cotton instead.

"Oh. My. God," a familiar, softer voice said from above her head and Marinette lifted her eyes to meet civilian Chat's despite herself.

"Adrien!" she squeaked embarrassingly before immediately trying to scramble upright. Her attempts to disengage from him just got her more tangled up with his long lithe form, however, and she inevitably slipped and fell again.

Their foreheads knocked together painfully this time and both teenagers groaned in discomfort for a second before opening wide eyes to take the other in.

Marinette couldn't understand. She couldn't think. It was him.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

 _Adrien_ was Chat Noir.

Adrien was _Chat_ _Noir_.

And yet, it didn't seem to matter how she said it, her brain just refused to function. The blush spreading across his face and down his neck caught her attention in the gloom as it started to seep into the opening of his t-shirt. She was going mad. She had to be. He was not blushing. She could barely cope around a relaxed Adrien as it was, how was she meant to handle embarrassed Adrien?

He _was_ embarrassed, wasn't he? Embarrassed because she'd landed on top of him, right? What else could have caused him to blush? She felt his heartbeat pick up suddenly in his chest, right where hers was pressed against him and her mind started to melt and turn to mush. He was not making it easy for her to concentrate at all right now.

"Kitty?" she asked, her mouth frozen into an "O" as she finished talking, still unable to work out exactly how language was supposed to work right now.

"My Lady," he sighed, much more a statement than her own words, as if he could see just how obvious it was now that he knew the truth. His tongue darted to the tip of his lips as he formed the syllables for her nickname and Marinette felt her own face flush violently in response.

She was just considering how to proceed when the door flew open and the harsh lights from the hallway shone in, blinding them both momentarily.

"Okay! That's it!" the disgruntled silhouette in the doorway said, "I'm so sick of little punks like you using my supply closet for your hormonal escapades! I'm going to make sure Damocles makes an example of you two this time. No one is gonna try their nonsense around here ever again."

"What?" Adrien said from beneath her and as her sight returned, a blinking Marinette recognised one of the older janitorial staff looming in the doorway and looking down at them…down?

She squeaked as she realised she was still lying on top of Adrien inside the tiny closet and the implications of the man's words began to sink in.

She moved quickly into an upright position, too embarrassed to be able to appreciate the way her body pressed against his as he moved to sit as well.

He'd thought they'd been…

Glancing over at Adrien she could see that same blush she'd spotted earlier but now, instead of the deep grey it had appeared in the shadows, she could easily identify the exact shade of red he wore. It was a wonderful colour. She'd love to make something in that shade. Something she could wear.

Of course, that just elicited sudden thoughts of Adrien's flushed skin against hers and she buried her face in her hands, rubbing the heels of her palms into her eye sockets to force the images from her mind.

"You heard me, get up and come with me," the janitor demanded and groaning, Marinette pulled her hands away in order to maneuver herself to her feet. Adrien held out a hand, offering his assistance and she took it gratefully, even if it did make her stomach feel weird when she realised he was unable to look her in the eye directly. And that his blush had darkened even further. And that his hand hadn't released hers despite the fact that they were both standing now, ready to face the next challenge.

"Right, you can explain yourselves to the Principal now."

Although if she could just skip the challenge this time around, that would be great.


End file.
